Indian cricketer Kuldeep Yadav tosses the ball during the team's practice session at the Green Park Cricket Stadium in Kanpur on October 28, 2017.
India will be playing against New Zealand in the third and final One Day International match on October 29. / AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA / ----IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE----- / GETTYOUT Kanpur : Captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya were among the five Indian team members who skipped the optional practice session ahead of the series decider against New Zealand here.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who played in Pune in place of Kuldeep Yadav, too, did not take part in the afternoon session. It remains to be seen whether Kohli goes with the same playing XI that played on Wednesday or bring in Yadav in front of his home crowd. The chinaman had a lengthy spell in the nets and so did leggie Yuzvendra Chahal.
Among the batsmen, Shi-khar Dhawan went through a long session as he batted in the nets before practising the pull shots off fast full-tosses on the outfield. India had their nets at the centre square while New Zealand had them placed on the boundary wickets.
Compared to the hosts, the visitors underwent a much longer session in the morning that went beyond three hours. Both teams hit the nets for the first time since arriving on Thursday. After the practice, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee said the mood in the team was upbeat ahead of the pressure game.
“There was an air of excitement around the guys at training. Obviously we felt freshened up after the day off,” said the senior Kiwi pacer.
